The Canon Powershot S5 IS The Mega-Zoom wars heat up
Written: Jun 19 '07 (Updated Jun 19 '07)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Battery Life:
Photo Quality:
Shutter Lag
Pros: Fast, hot shoe, 2.5 inch vari-angle LCD, 12X USM IS zoom, full manual controls.
Cons: No RAW/TIFF mode
The Bottom Line: The Canon Powershot S5 IS provides most of the flexibility of a dSLR while retaining all of the convenience and ease of use of a P&S digicam.
Howard_Creech's Full Review: Canon PowerShot® S5 IS Digital Camera
Photography has been my obsession for more than thirty years, so I'm a very lucky guy - I get to test lots of nifty new digital cameras. The only problem is that I have to send the cameras back when my tests are finished. Usually that's not too onerous, but every now and again I get to test a camera that I’d really like to keep – the new Canon Powershot S5 IS was one of those rare digicams I didn’t want to send back.
Last year's Canon PowerShot S3 IS stood head and shoulders above the bloated mega-zoom digicam field because it provided a "best in class" balance of pro features, creative flexibility, compact size (when measured against a comparable dSLR kit), and price. Despite its semi-pro properties, the S3 was a somewhat timid update of the almost revolutionary S2 IS. The S5 IS is an evolutionary update, but it more precisely meets the needs of a very demanding demographic than its slightly anemic predecessor.
The brain of the new S5 IS is Canon's third-generation DIGIC III (Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit) processor, the same processor used in Canon's top of the line Pro dSLRs. The DIGIC III processor combines image processing, power management, and most auto camera functions (Exposure, White Balance, Sensitivity, JPEG compression, etc) to more efficiently control camera operation. DIGIC III image files are optimized for bright colors, sharp resolution, balanced contrast, and low noise.
Prosumers who've been waiting patiently for the S3's replacement won't be disappointed – the S5 retains everything that made the S3 a winner and adds a couple of genuinely useful improvements. Rumor has it that Canon skipped the S4 IS because the number four is considered unlucky in Japanese numerology.
What's new?
Resolution has been boosted to 8.3 megapixels (from 6 megapixels) and the S3’s 2.0 inch LCD screen has been replaced by a larger (2.5 inch) higher resolution (from 115,000 pixels to 207,000 pixels) LCD screen. Other enhancements include a hot shoe, an expanded movie mode, improved noise reduction, Face Detection AF, in-camera Red-Eye Correction, and extended (from ISO 80 to ISO 1600) sensitivity.
NUTS & BOLTS
Viewfinder/LCD Screen
The S5 features a wide-viewing-angle high eye-point EVF (electronic viewfinder). Electronic Viewfinders are essentially a smaller version of the LCD screen. EVFs don't show as much detail as an optical viewfinder, but EVFs (like optical viewfinders) narrow the photographer's vision of the world by eliminating everything except the field of view of the camera's lens - and that's a good thing because it forces shooters to see photographically. The S5's EVF provides decent resolution and it's reasonably fluid. Shooters can use the Display button to toggle back and forth between the EVF and the LCD screen (only one can be active at any time). There's also a diopter adjustment for eyeglasses wearers.
The S5's 2.5 inch camcorder style (flip-out, rotating) Vari-Angle LCD screen provides two brightness levels for easier viewing, even in difficult lighting. The LCD screen tilts/swivels 180 degrees horizontally and 270 degrees vertically (the screen nests into the camera’s back deck when not in use and opens out when needed). The screen can be nested into its well (facing out) for traditional LCD viewing, or tilted/swiveled through a variety of shooting angles including facing the front of the camera (good for self-portraits and allowing portrait subjects to fine-tune their poses in real time) or facing backward at a 45 degree angle (good for low level macro shots), or pointing backward at 135 degrees (for over-the-heads of the crowd shots), or facing upward at a 90 degree angle to the back of the camera (for waist level viewing). When not in use the LCD screen can be flipped around and popped back into the monitor well (face-in) to protect it from scratches, smudges, and fingerprints (this position automatically shifts framing and composition chores to the EVF).
Zoom/Optics
The major reason consumers buy Mega-Zoom digicams is for the long lenses that define this camera class. The S5's f2.7-f3.5/ 6mm-72 mm (36mm-432 mm - 35mm equivalent) 12X zoom is the same lens that graced its predecessor and a prime example of just how good digicam optics can be. The S5's zoom makes good use of Canon's very fast Ultrasonic Motor (USM) technology to supplement the benefits of its superior optics, Image Stabilization, and very accurate auto focus. The S5’s zoom is similar in performance, build, and optical quality to Canon’s EF series lenses.
Construction is 11 elements in 9 groups including 1 UD (ultra low dispersion) element to reduce chromatic aberration and 1 aspherical element to enhance sharpness and improve color fidelity. Barrel distortion (straight lines bow out from the center of the frame) at the wide-angle end of the zoom is about average for long zoom digicams. Pincushion distortion (straight lines bow in toward the center of the frame) at the telephoto end of the zoom is a bit better than average. Chromatic aberration (a slight violet colored fringe visible around the edges of some objects in high contrast color transition areas) is about average at the wide-angle end of the zoom range, but visibly above average at the telephoto end of the zoom. Corners are noticeably soft at the maximum aperture, but sharpen up nicely as the aperture gets smaller. Minimum focusing distance (in Super Macro mode) is 0 inches/0 cm.
Image Stabilization (IS)
Image Stabilization allows photographers to shoot at shutter speeds up to 3 f-stops slower than would have been possible without IS by shifting lens elements to counteract shaky hands and camera movement during exposure. For example, if a shutter speed of 1/250th of a second is required to avoid the effects of camera shake (without image stabilization) the S5 can capture a reasonably sharp image of the same subject (everything else being equal) at 1/30th of a second. Image stabilization can also be very useful when shooting where higher shutter speeds may not be possible or would result in dark images with poor shadow/highlight detail.
In addition, IS combined with higher sensitivity (like the S5's ISO 1600 option) dramatically increase exposure options in low/natural light and dimly lit indoor venues where flash may be prohibited. Users also benefit outdoors when shooting handheld at full telephoto in good light (where even the slightest camera movement is magnified exponentially) because the image stabilization system automatically compensates for the virtually unavoidable camera shake at the maximum telephoto setting.
Auto Focus (AF)
The S5 IS features the same TTL Contrast Detection 1-AF point Flexizone AF system as its predecessors. AF is consistently and dependably fast and accurate. The S5 IS also features Canon's new Face Detection AF/AE technology – just point the camera at the subject(s) and press the shutter button halfway and the camera will locate, lock on, and track up to nine faces in the image frame. Face Detection AF selects the optimum subject based on Canon’s ISAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) technology and then optimizes all exposure parameters to determine the best exposure, (just before the image is recorded). Face Detection AF/AE can also be used when recording video clips (with AF and exposure parameters adjusted continuously for moving subjects). The Canon PowerShot S5 IS also provides an AF assist beam for quicker and more accurate focusing in dim/low light.
Manual Focus (MF)
Shift from AF to the S5's Manual Focus mode and the LCD screen (or EVF) provides a distance scale and automatically enlarges the central portion of the view. The MF mode works fairly well, but those for to whom MF is an important consideration - the S5 (along with the vast majority of P&S digital cameras) may not be the best choice.
Flash
The S5's built-in multi-mode flash provides an above average range of lighting options including: off, on, auto (fires when the camera determines that ambient light isn’t sufficient), red-eye reduction, Slow Sync (balances flash output and a slower shutter speed with ambient light for a more natural look), first curtain synch effect (flash fires at the beginning of the exposure), and second curtain synch effect (flash fires at the end of the exposure). Flash exposure can be adjusted +/-2 EV in 1/3 EV increments and flash output power can be adjusted through a three step range. Maximum flash range is about 14 feet.
Like most P&S digicams, the S5’s built-in flash is positioned too close to and on essentially the same plane as the lens - so redeye will be a problem. S5 IS users can defeat redeye by turning off the flash and relying on the IS system – a shake stabilized slower shutter speed will cover many lighting situations and naturally lit portraits almost always look better than flash portraits. Another option is Canon’s new in-camera Auto Red-Eye Correction feature, which radically reduces the need for post exposure processing. Enable Auto Red-Eye Correction and the S5 utilizes its Face Detection technology to locate faces and then analyze each image to isolate redeye and then remove it - shooters can also remove red-eye manually.
The S3 (and its predecessors) didn’t provide a hot shoe - something lots of serious photographers regarded as an especially egregious omission. Somebody at Canon was evidently listening to all those complaints - the S5 IS sports a brand new flash hot shoe - allowing Canon EX Speedlites (220EX, 430EX, and 550EX) to be used. Flash sync with Canon flash units is 1/250th of a second and flash output can be adjusted incrementally.
Memory Media & Image File Format(s)
The S5 IS saves images in JPEG format (a TIFF/RAW option would have been nice) and stores image files to SD/SDHC/MMC cards.
Connectivity
USB 2.0HS, A/V out, and DC in
Power
The S5 IS (like its predecessors) draws its juice from four available everywhere AA batteries. Canon includes four disposable alkalines, but most shooters will want to buy at least two sets (8) of high-capacity (at least 2300 mAh) NiMH's and a fast charger. The S5's image stabilized zoom produces consistently sharper images at shutter speeds that would normally generate blurry pictures, but this capability comes at a cost in terms of power consumption. Canon claims 550 exposures (with 2500 mAh rechargeables) but this number was probably derived via lab test/best case scenario and IRL numbers are likely to be conspicuously lower. Based on my use, the S5 IS (with 4 fully charged 2300 mAh NiMh AAs), is good for somewhere between 350 and 450 exposures – that’s enough for a short vacation trip or a long weekend of moderate to heavy shooting.
EXPOSURE
The S5 IS provides all the photographic capability casual photographers want and most of the creative flexibility more serious photographers are likely to need, including: Auto, Program AE, Scene (Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Sports, Stitch Assist, and Special Scenes – Foliage, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, Indoor, Night Snapshot, Color Accent, and Color Swap), Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and full Manual modes.
In Auto (point & shoot) mode, the S5 makes all exposure decisions. In Program AE mode, the camera automatically selects the aperture and shutter speed, but users may select all other exposure variables. In the Scene modes the camera automatically optimizes all exposure parameters for the specific type of scene selected - the camera matches the scene in front of the lens with an on-board database of known scene types and then compares that information with the specific scene's subject distance, white balance, contrast range, lighting, and color (just before the image is recorded) to determine the best exposure utilizing Canon's iSAPS technology. In Aperture Priority mode, shooters select the lens aperture and the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed. In Shutter Priority mode users select the shutter speed (high shutter speeds to freeze action or slower shutter speeds to blur motion) and the camera automatically selects the best aperture. In Manual mode users select all exposure parameters.
The S5's Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) mode permits users to capture three images with one push of the shutter button, each at a marginally different exposure setting. One image slightly over the base exposure setting, one image at the CPU determined base exposure setting, and one image slightly under the base exposure setting. The Auto Focus Bracketing mode (AFB) accomplishes the same thing with focus – one image at the rangefinder determined optimum focusing distance, one image slightly behind the optimum focusing distance point and one image slightly in front of the optimum focusing distance point.
The S5 IS also provides a couple of nifty features that will be particularly useful to more serious shutterbugs - Safety FE automatically shifts to a smaller aperture to avoid clipping (over-exposed highlights) when using flash up close. Safety MF automatically makes tiny incremental sharpness tweaks when users focus manually.
Movie Mode
The S5 provides the most comprehensive video capability of any digicam in its class. The S5’s camcorder style movie button allows users to switch instantly from shooting stills to shooting video. In Movie mode the S5 can capture (up to 4GB/1 hour) video clips at 640 pixels x 480 pixels @ 30 fps and record the soundtrack in stereo (there’s a built-in wind filter and microphone levels are adjustable). Canon’s new Face Detection AF/AE also functions in video mode and individual movie frames can be saved as 8 megapixel still images.
Metering
The S5 IS (like its predecessors) provides three light metering options: Evaluative, Center-Weighted Averaging, and Spot. The default Evaluative metering mode (linked to Face Detection AF/AE) assesses numerous individual points across the frame. Center-weighted metering biases exposure on the central portion of frame (great for landscape and travel images where the subject is likely to be centered). Spot metering reads only a tiny portion of the image frame allowing users to bias exposure on the single most important element in the composition (like the eyes or face in a head and shoulders portrait). The S5's metering is dependably accurate and the range of metering options (especially the ability to couple Flexi-zone AF and Spot metering) should be more than adequate for most users.
White Balance (WB)
The S5 provides a very nice range of White Balance options, including TTL Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent (warm white), Fluorescent H (for daylight-balanced fluorescents), Flash, and two Custom WB modes. The Custom settings permit users to manually set white balance with a white card (wall or ceiling). The ability to save and use two Custom WB settings makes it easier for users to move back and forth between scenes with fundamentally different lighting (for example indoors and outdoors). Auto white balance seems to be very accurate in outdoor lighting.
Sensitivity
The S3 topped out at ISO 800 – the S5 boosts that top sensitivity setting to ISO 1600. Other sensitivity options include Auto, High ISO Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, and 800 ISO. The new ISO 1600 setting provides photographers with the flexibility to shoot indoors without flash, shoot at faster shutter speeds (to freeze action) outdoors, and to better capture images in low/dim lighting.
In-Camera Image Adjustment
In-camera image adjustment capabilities are often overlooked by casual digicam users, but more demanding shooters know that the ability to make subtle color/contrast/sharpness/exposure adjustments is a very important creative tool and an easy way to overcome minor exposure problems. The S5 IS, like its predecessors, provides users with a very useful range of creative photo tweaks that can be applied in-camera; eliminating or greatly reducing the need for post-exposure processing.
The S5's Exposure Compensation mode allows users to subtly modify exposure parameters. Very light or very dark subjects can trick light metering systems into underexposing or overexposing images. The S5's base exposure can be modified over a 4 EV range (+/-2 EV in 1/3 EV increments) to compensate for difficult lighting and subject/background reflectance/non-reflectance problems or to compensate for environmental exposure variables (by allowing users to easily lighten or darken exposures).
The S5's My Colors mode permits users to adjust color saturation, select Positive Film (mimics slide film color, saturation, and contrast), Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, custom color (users can adjust color balance for red, green, blue, and skin tones +/-2 arbitrary steps in 1 step increments), and Photo effects (vivid or neutral color saturation, low sharpening, sepia, and B&W), and touch up images in-camera (post exposure).
DESIGN, BUILD QUALITY, CONTROLS, & ERGONOMICS
The S5 may be the ultimate bridge camera; an imaging tool that very nicely spans the gap between Canon's P&S (point & shoot) consumer digicams like the A560 and its entry-level digital SLRs like the Rebel XTi. The S5 is a fairly compact (4.6 x 3.15 x 3.06 inches/117 x 80 x 78 mm) and lightweight (15.7 ounces/ 450 grams - no batteries or memory card) prosumer digicam that looks and behaves like a mini dSLR. This digital camera has all the bells and whistles users have come to expect with high-end prosumer digicams, but it also provides an impressive level of creative flexibility. The S5’s ergonomic grip fits the hand well and all controls are logically placed, easy to access, and quickly become intuitive. Robust construction (polycarbonate body shell over a metal alloy frame) makes the S5 durable enough to go just about anywhere.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 8.3 megapixels (3264 x 2448)
Sensor: 1/2.5” (5.8mm x 4.3mm)
Viewfinders: TTL (through the lens) EVF (electronic viewfinder) and 2.5 inch tilt/swivel LCD
Lens: Canon USM f2.7-f3.5/ 6mm-72 mm (36mm-432 mm equivalent) all glass optical Zoom
Auto Focus: Single AF Point Flexi-Zone Contrast Detection AF system
Manual Focus: Yes
Exposure: Auto, Program AE, Scene, Shutter Priority AE, Aperture Priority AE, and Manual modes
Flash: Built-in multi mode pop-up
Hot Shoe: yes
Metering: Evaluative, Center-Weighted Averaging, and Spot
White Balance: TTL Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Flash, and two Custom WB modes
Sensitivity: TTL Auto, Hi ISO Auto, and settings for 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600
Connectivity: USB 2.0HS, A/V out, and DC in
Image File Format(s): JPEG
Power: four AA batteries
Tele-converter 1.5x lens (Canon TC-DC58B), Wide-converter 0.75x lens (Canon WC-DC58A), Close-Up Lens 500D (58mm), Lens Adapter/Hood Set (Canon LAH-DC20), Canon Speedlite flash units (220EX, 430EX, 580EX), Canon HF-DC1(slave flash), Soft Case (Canon DCC-90), Compact AC Power Adapter (Canon CA-PS700), NiMH Batteries and Charger Kit (Canon CBK4-300)
In the Field/Handling & Operation
I have old friend who sells new and used digital and analog photographic equipment. Between us we have more than fifty years of hands-on experience with a wide variety of cameras, lenses, flashes, etc. When he asked me if I would like to help him test the new Canon Powershot S5 IS, I jumped at the chance.
I've used each of Canon’s "S" series mega-zoom digicams - I was disappointed in the S1, loved the S2, and liked the S3. We started our test by shooting some color samples using a homemade macro stage and a selection of brightly colored (red, green, yellow, blue, orange, and purple) plastic children’s beach toys arrayed on a white photographic background. This test allows us to check not only color accuracy but also the precision of the white balance system. The S5 IS did an outstanding job in the color department – the S5' color is bright and hue accurate, but a bit oversaturated (especially red and blue) with slightly hard native contrast.
For our first outing with the S5 IS we drove over to Cave Hill Cemetery, one of the country's best remaining examples of 19th century landscape architecture. Cave Hill is a popular destination for local photographers because there is almost always something to photograph, but we’ve had several weeks of really hot dry weather here in the Ohio Valley – so there wasn’t much in bloom and the harsh mid-afternoon light was pretty ugly. We spent less than 30 minutes at the old cemetery and then headed for Butchertown, one of Louisville's oldest neighborhoods. A century ago the laborers who toiled in Louisville’s slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants lived in 19th and early 20th century shotgun houses along the narrow tree lined streets. Most of those old houses have been re-habbed and are now colorfully painted and the tiny front yards are filled with flowers. We did a long walking loop up Washington Street to Bakery Square and then back down the other side to where we’d left the car, shooting whatever caught our interest along the way.
After we finished up in Butchertown we headed for the nearby Extreme Sports Park to shoot some action. The Extreme Park is a favorite destination for local photographers looking to shoot some action. The S5 IS is in its element outdoors, especially in good light. The S5 worked really well, allowing us to shoot at fairly high shutter speeds (with full time IS) to freeze the action. The S5’s long lens made it fairly easy to stand off, out of the way, and zoom in on the action.
BMX bikers move much faster than skateboarders and they need a bit more of the frame to accommodate their bikes, so shooting bikers is much tougher than shooting skateboarders. What works for me is to watch the kid do his routine a couple of times to isolate the spots where the most dramatic action will occur – then track the kid through his run and nail him when he does his most impressive jump. You have to anticipate the peak action moment by ¼ to ½ a second (so the camera has time to lock focus and fire the shutter) but that’s actually fairly easy to do, with a little practice.
When the Extreme Park started to get crowded (once it started to get cooler) we drove over to nearby West Main Street, (which is lined with three and four story 19th century warehouses sporting decorative cast iron fronts) and spent about an hour shooting architectural details of the colorfully painted old cast iron building fronts lit up by the oblique afternoon light. We then moved several blocks east and shot a couple of the nifty late thirties/early forties industrial Art Deco factory buildings on East Market Street.
After we finished up downtown we took a break at the Dizzy Whiz, Louisville’s original drive-in restaurant. When you stop at this old drive-in it’s like you’ve stepped back in time to the late fifties, the place has hardly changed since I went there while I was in High School more than forty years ago. We ordered burgers, fries, and shakes and moved outside to eat and take turns shooting street shots with the S5.
For our second outing with the S5 we got together the following morning and headed for Iroquois Park in Louisville’s South End. Once you are inside the park, it feels like you are out in the country. There is a small restored mixed grass prairie at the top of the park that is home to lots of native Kentucky shrubs, plants, wildflowers, and prairie grasses. This quiet little hilltop refuge is a photographer’s paradise in the spring, summer, and fall when the area sports an ever-changing selection of seasonal wildflowers. We spent a couple of hours wandering around Olmsted’s mini prairie, shooting wildflowers and Eliot Porter style Intimate Landscapes. The broad open mid-day sky provided some fairly hard-edged lighting so some of our shots were a bit too contrasty, but that wasn’t the fault of the camera.
Once we finished up at Iroquois Park, we headed for nearby Wagner’s Pharmacy. Wagner’s has been a Derby City landmark since the twenties, the eatery of choice for jockeys, horse exercisers, veterinarians, and trainers from Churchill Downs. This old trackside restaurant is always filled with an interesting mix of locals and racetrack characters, so we took turns sneaking some impromptu portraits of our fellow diners. The S5 doesn’t do as well indoors as it does outside – indoor images (shot in Program mode at the wide-angle end of the zoom) were a bit noisy - the dim indoor lighting kicked the S5’s sensitivity up noticeably - and colors were a little too warm under the old restaurant’s mixed lighting.
PERFORMANCE
Image Quality
Canon’s "S" series Mega-Zoom digicams are well known for their superb images and the S5 IS doesn’t deviate from that tradition. The S5’s Auto White balance seems consistent and precise even in difficult lighting. Colors are bright and hue accurate, but slightly oversaturated. Like most P&S digicams reds and blues are especially exaggerated. Images shot at ISO 80 or 100 (ISO 80 and ISO 100 are indistinguishable) have extremely low noise levels – images are dependably very good to excellent with decent shadow detail, acceptable highlight detail, and accurate (Caucasian) skin tones. Noise levels start to pick up at slightly ISO 200 and ISO 400 shots show some obvious loss of detail. The S5's ISO 800 and ISO 1600 images are slightly soft (visible loss of detail) with flat contrast and dull colors.
Timing/Shutter Lag
The S5 IS is a very quick camera, equal to or faster than any digital camera in its class, but it doesn’t seem quite as fast as its predecessor – even with the DIGIC III processor. I'm guessing the new 8 megapixel CCD imager and larger buffer brings the S5s speed down just a tiny bit.
AF lock is less than half a second from scratch and essentially real time with pre-focus. The 12X zoom (once extended) only needs about one second to travel from wide angle to telephoto. Shutter Lag is about average for 8 megapixel digicams (from scratch) and effectively real time with pre-focus. Shot to shot times are between 1 and 2 seconds, noticeably better than average. Write to card times are also a bit faster than average.
A Few Concerns
I don’t have any serious concerns with the S5 IS. Here’s what I said in my S3 IS review, "Here's a note for Canon’s design folks—for the S4 IS punch the resolution up to 7 or 8 megapixels, include a TIFF/RAW mode, and add a hot shoe." To quote the inimitable Meatloaf, "two out of three ain’t bad."
Conclusion
The class champ Canon Powershot S5 IS is (in my opinion) as good as 8 megapixel prosumer digicams get at this point in time. Casual photographers looking for an easy to use P&S digicam will love the S5 and more advanced shooters looking for a digital camera that handles like an SLR are going to absolutely adore the S5. The observations, opinions, and conclusions provided in my digital camera reviews are based on more than 30 years experience as a photographer and extensive hands on testing of each of the cameras I review.
For definitive advice on How to Choose a Digital Camera please see
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